California public union OKs strike authorization Sat Aug 1, 2009 7:55pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's largest state employees' union voted on Saturday to approve a strike authorization measure to protest furloughs of state workers and pressure state officials to ratify its labor contract. A spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 1000 said a strike was not imminent but that the vote authorized union officers to initiate certain job actions, including a strike if necessary. The SEIU represents about 95,000 state employees, including clerical workers and teachers. The group's labor contract with the state expired last year, SEIU...

Republican and Democratic senators negotiating financial details of healthcare reform have made great progress and are on the verge of a deal, a key Republican senator said on Wednesday. "We have made great progress. Every day we make some progress," Sen. Charles Grassley, one of the three Republicans from Senate Finance Committee involved in the talks to overhaul the healthcare system, told NPR radio. "Will we get it done so we can get a bill to the other members by this weekend because there is a certain time you've got to give people to study it? We're on the edge,...

What was once a grocery shop is now a blackened mess. Two boys in shorts and singlets play in the rubble but the usual occupants are absent. Five days ago a Han Chinese family was butchered in this small shop ó victims of the Uighurs who rampaged through Urumqi. Yu Dongzhi described how he clawed through the smoking ruins of the store to search for the family who lived there. He hoped to find his sister, Yu Xinli; her husband, Zhang Mingying; their 13-year-old son; her elderly mother-in-law; and a nephew aged 27. The police helped him to dig among...

††Want to know what's in the proposed health care bill?†† Someone who, unlike the president and the members of Congress, actually READ the bill put together this list of concerns.† The comments and emphases are the author's. Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!! Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!! Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose†your...

This is the presentation made by Claiborne Deming of Murphy Oil Corporation that he is taking throughout Arkansas. It's an eye opener. http://www.arkansansagainstcapandtrade.com/arcaptrade/Presentation.pdf Check out the charts on China/World vs US on emissions. Also, check out the wind/solar that is supposed to replace oil & gas.

WASHINGTON - For a well-known straight shooter, Rep. Collin Peterson has caused a lot of collateral damage this week. The Detroit Lakes Democrat was forced to apologize Tuesday for telling a Capitol Hill newspaper that a quarter of his constituents are conspiracy theorists -- a statement that immediately drew ire from political opponents back home. "Twenty-five percent of my people believe the Pentagon and Rumsfeld were responsible for taking the Twin Towers down," Peterson told the website Politico, explaining why he does not like to hold town hall-style meetings.

For years Greg Quinlan juggled a double life, going to church, entering Bible College, chasing gay sex. The tension nearly killed him, he said. ďI was torn,Ē he said. ďI had to either come out of the closet or commit suicide. I was more afraid of facing God.Ē So he dropped his faith and lived as an openly gay man who learned to lobby on behalf of gay and lesbian issues through his volunteer work for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). He was particularly enamored with the groupís black-tie fundraisers. The group, he said, was a refreshingly professional organization that...

After WWI many U.S. soldiers moved to the Californian desert to find physical and emotional healing. In 1934, they erected a memorial to honor their fallen comrades, a single white cross, - a symbol used around the world to memorialize those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The site for the memorial was chosen because at a certain time of day, the sun casts a shadow on the rock which resembles a WWI doughboy. For more than 75 years, the memorial has stood as a reminder that there were those who fought and died for our freedoms. But...

WASHINGTON ó Sen. George Voinovich's comments about the U.S. Senate's southern caucus reverberated in Washington today. But publicly, one of the southerners Voinovich criticized declined to lash back this afternoon. And Voinovich's own campaign finance records show he has had no problem whistling Dixie. The story begins with a conversation the Ohio Republican had with editors from the Columbus Dispatch. When asked about the GOP's biggest problem, Voinovich told the Columbus newspaper: "We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It's the southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, 'These...

Pristina | 28 July 2009 | By Arber Kuci FBI logo Kosovo Albanian Hysen Sherifi has been charged in the US alongside six others in connection with an international terror plot, which included a potential attack on Kosovo. The 24 year old, who is a US resident, was indicted in Raleigh, North Carolina, for attempting to engage in ‚Äėviolent jihad‚Äô, the FBI announced on Tuesday. Prosecutors claim Sherifi visited Kosovo in July 2008 ‚Äúto engage in violent jihad‚ÄĚ, before returning to the US in April 2009 to raise ‚Äúfunds and personnel to support the mujihadeen‚ÄĚ. All seven defendants are charged...

THIS IS ANOTHER GOOD SITE THAT KNOWS AND WANTS TO KNOW OF WHERE DID OBAMA COME FROM: Excellent information here "Chairman Senate Muhammadmian Soomro may be having a friend in White House if Barak Hussain Obama finally succeeds in his presidential bid.Hardly a few people know about Soomroís link with Obama, which he never discussed it in public. But in private interactions with influential Pakistanis here in the US, Obama disclosed that Soomroís father was his host when he went on a hunting expedition in Jacobabad during his visit to Pakistan in 1981. While in Karachi, Obama had stayed at...

Another day, another casualty in a conflict pitting equality and demographic diversity against free speech and diversity of opinion: "A Singapore law professor who was to teach a human rights course at New York University Law School this fall has withdrawn after students protested what they called her anti-gay views," the New York Times reported last week. The anger at Dr. Thio Li-ann's appointment as a visiting professor was understandable: According to a petition protesting it, she had opposed repeal of a Singaporean law criminalizing homosexual conduct and "supported the imposition of a $15,000 fine on a free-access Singaporean television...

A COMMUNITY paediatrician, with 18 years experience working with parents and children in Northamptonshire, is to be removed as a medical advisor to Northamptonshire County Council after asking to be able to abstain from voting on the 'rare' occasions when she would be asked to recommend children for adoption by same-sex couples. Dr Sheila Matthews, who has been a medical advisor to the Adoption Panel for five years, believes her work is appreciated by social workers and all those involved with adoption in the county. She says: "I try to make fair and unbiased assessments and recommendations about the...

7/27/2009 - COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFNS) -- Iraqi air force 2nd Lt. Omar AlNuaimi became the first Iraqi to complete the Air Force Aviation Leadership Program upon his graduation from aviation training July 24 here after three years of training. The Iraqi airman earned his pilots wings with his fellow student pilots of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 09-12. "It feels great (to graduate)," Lieutenant AlNuaimi said. "Since the Iraqi air force was founded and until this moment, we haven't had students who have graduated from the U.S. It's been great and wonderful to be trained and get...

If They Vote for Government-Run Healthcare, They Enroll in Government-Run Healthcare A government-sponsored public plan option continues to be the most contentious issue in the current health reform debate. Proponents of the option believe it provides an alternative. It lets Americans choose between a government-run option and private insurers, while at the same time applying competitive pressure to the rest of the insurance industry. Opponents say the introduction of a public plan would lead to the federal takeover of the countryís healthcare system, thereby restricting patient choice, reducing quality and increasing the power of the federal government. As health legislation...

A bill under the guise of reducing abortion could actually do the opposite. LifeNews.com reports Congressmen Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a former pro-lifer who abandoned his views and was subsequently kicked off the board of Democrats for Life of America, and Representative Rose DeLauro (D-Connecticut), a former staff of NARAL, have introduced a bill being touted as pro-life legislation but is being called a "bailout for the abortion industry." According to Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee, the $647-million "Reducing the Need for Abortions Initiative" does not live up to its name. "Itís authored by a former leader...

The issue with the MSM is they are trying to cover-up and act ignorant. I have been screaming that there are THREE (3) versions of the COLB that have been posted. WHY NO ONE HAS BEEN ASKING THESE HOSTS LIKE LOU DOBS, ďWHICH VERSION OF THE COLB ARE YOU REFERING TOO?Ē hERE ARE THE THREE FORGERIES #1 - posted on ĎFight teh Smearsí - no seal, evidence that it is a computer graphic #2 - posted on FactCheck - has an invalid SEAL from the State of Hawaii #3 - posted on FactCheck - has no seal whatsoever See my...

At a speech on April 18, 2009 at a rally for healthcare reform in Chicago, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) admitted that a strategic objective of the Obama healthcare reform plan is to destroy the private health insurance industry.

LONDON Ė In a drive to inoculate people against swine flu before winter, many European governments say they will fast-track the testing of a new flu vaccine, arousing concern among some experts about safety issues and proper vaccine doses. The European Medicines Agency, the EU's top drug regulatory body, is accelerating the approval process for swine flu vaccine, and countries such as Britain, Greece, France and Sweden say they'll start using the vaccine after it's greenlighted ó possibly within weeks. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the World Health Organization's flu chief, warned about the potential...

According to the Nashville Gay Pride website, Home Depot gave over $5,000 to be a major sponsor of its 2009 Gay Pride Festival in June. But simply financing the event wasn't enough for the big box chain. Home Depot also signed on as a vendor, conducting kid's craft workshops for children via a special booth set up just for them. To this end, Home Depot is basically encouraging the attendance of children at events which openly expose them to transvestites, cross-dressers, and homosexual activities. Unfortunately, Home Depot's participation in the Nashville Pride Festival doesn't stand alone. It has also sponsored...

health economist warns that President Obama's government-run healthcare plan may result in denying care to a significant number of Americans, especially senior citizens. Conservative opponents of President Obama's healthcare plan have been arguing that a government takeover of healthcare will allow Washington bureaucrats to use "comparative effectiveness research" to dictate to doctors which treatments they should prescribe and how much those treatments should cost. Critics say this will lead to rationing of care. In the medical journal The Lancet (January 2009 [PDF]) Obama's special health policy advisor Ezekiel Emanuel wrote that if healthcare has to be rationed, he prefers the...

President Barack Obama and pro-abortion members of Congress are moving quickly to implement a socialized heath care plan that will mandate abortion coverage and require taxpayers to fund abortions. This is part of Obamaís overall agenda to expand abortion funding and implement the radical Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). ďThe first thing Iíd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.Ē --Barack Obama 7/17/08 ďFOCA would sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws.Ē --National Organization of Women ď[FOCA] would codify Roe v. Wade into law and guarantee a woman's right to choose in all 50 states. " --NARAL ObamaCare...

Blum is currently a founder and co-chair of Health Care for America Now, which is leading the fight for quality, affordable health care for all. He served on the steering committee of Americans United to Protect Social Security, which led the successful campaign to stop Social Security privatization, and co-founded two coalitions to safely and responsibly end the war in Iraq. In 2006, USAction helped elect seven new Members of Congress who are members of USActionís state affilates. In 2004, USAction Education Fund registered 570,000 new voters and conducted GOTV among 1.3 million voters in 2316 precincts. Blumís experience in...

Via ICN, this isnít the first time heís spectacularly demagogued Fox. Your official progressive ďnational conversation on raceĒ tweet of the day: do u know how much money iíd make if iíd sold out as hispanic and worked at fox news, r u kidding, one problem, looking in mirror

President Obama promised transparency in government...yet the White House WON'T release his original birth certificate. Many Americans are asking...WHY NOT? The mainstream liberal media is attacking me for simply asking the question. Meanwhile, the state of Hawaii says it CAN'T release a copy of the president's original birth certificate because it discarded the original document when its health department records went electronic eight years ago. That explanation has not satisfied critics though. Joining me are Roland Martin and Congressman Ted Poe.

U.S. and Mexican officials say they have launched a manhunt for the killer of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, who was shot and killed 60 miles east of San Diego. Officials said Robert Rosas, 30, was slain by one or more assailants after responding to a reported incursion along a steel border fence near the rural town of Campo, Calif., in eastern San Diego County, the Los Angeles Times reported.

No wonder Ed is always smiling. Just another Dem who can't keep his pecker in his pants.. Man, Ed Rendell is so screwed -- literally. I don't normally listen to Opie & Anthony looking for breaking news, but astonishingly that's what I just got. A few minutes ago, the cast of the show on Sirius XM radio were interviewing Kristin Davis -- not the one from Sex and the City, the former Manhattan Madam who spent four months in Rikers in connection with the Eliot Spitzer hooker scandal from last year. There's been quite a bit of speculation that her...

JULY 24, 2009 The President Takes a Hard Line on Israel Yet he doesnít want to be seen as Ďmeddlingí in Iran. By MACKUBIN THOMAS OWENS In foreign policy, President Barack Obama has demonstrated a disturbing propensity to curry favor with our adversaries at the expense of our friends. The Czechs and Poles are rightly concerned that they will be sacrificed on the altar of better U.S. relations with Russia. And the Israelis fear that the Obama administrationís desired opening to the Muslim world will be achieved at their expense. Mr. Obamaís attempted bullying of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

The latest in the JP Catholic series with Prof. Michael Barber. Among other things, this tears the "miracle of sharing" interpretation to shreds. http://singinginthereign.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-on-sundays-readings-17th-sunday.html Subscribe to the RSS feed for this series here: http://vimeo.com/channels/52134/videos/rss

CNN daytime anchor Tony Harris has a bit of a different perspective on the Henry Louis Gates arrest. Around 12:31 PM, after the Massachusetts Municipal Police Coalition held a press conference defending Sgt. Crowleyís conduct in the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Harris spoke to the CNN reporter on the scene, Don Lemon. Having been informed that one of the reasons the union decided to hold the press conference was a sinking morale among officers after President Obamaís remarks on the matter, Harris said:

WASHINGTON, D.C. Three central Florida members of the state's Congressional delegation have signed their names to a letter sent this week to the U.S. General Accounting Office, demanding an accounting for a supposed "no meetings" list for official federal conventions or other business. There is no evidence that such a list exists, and federal agencies have not said there is one, but U.S. representatives Suzanne Kosmas, Alan Grayson, and John Mica are the Floridians who signed a letter calling for an investigation. The supposed list includes tourist draws of Orlando and Las Vegas, where officials could use tax dollars to...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested Thursday she's holding out hope that North Korea will rejoin nuclear disarmament talks, even as the country's foreign ministry descended into low-brow name-calling -- describing Clinton as a "primary schoolgirl" and calling her unintelligent. ......................

President Obama today stood by his comments that the Cambridge, Mass., police department acted "stupidly" in its arrest of Henry Louis Gates, telling ABC News that the Harvard University professor should not have been arrested. The president said he understands the sergeant who arrested Gates is an "outstanding police officer." But he added that with all that's going on in the country with health care and the economy and the wars abroad, "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

Via Greg Hengler, a new treat from a guy known to publicly congratulate himself for not scapegoating Republicans after scapegoating them on national television literally minutes before. What grates about this isnít the buck-passing ó thatís politics ó but his punctuating the buck-passing with a statement of ďthe buck stops hereĒ faux responsibility. He wants the authority of the presidency but not the political consequences of his policy choices, which is why heís spinning it as illegitimate and hypocritical for the GOP to criticize him on the economy even though (a) his deficit this year will end up being four...